The Best News of 2021

Best News of 2022

Good things happen every month. Hence in the tradition of the year in review we like to remind you of three randomly selected news articles of each month.

January

Death rate from cancer has dropped 30% over the last decade

A new report credits increased access to screening and care, declining rates of smoking, and new treatment methods with the drop

13/01/2022 The Independent

An Indian startup could revolutionize ocean farming with its 'sea combine harvester'

Often used to wrap sushi and flavor soups, seaweed has much greater potential -- both as a food and for use in a wide range of products from cosmetics and textiles to biodegradable packaging and even biofuel.

06/01/2022 CNN

Viruses unleashed into a woman's wound to slay superbug in her leg

A woman's oozing wound failed to heal after nearly two years of antibiotic treatments intended to vanquish the bacterial infection. So her doctors unleashed viruses to slay the superbug.

19/01/2022 LiveScience

February

New Smart Roofing Material Can Automatically Heat or Cool With Zero Emissions

The new smart roofing material could help reduce emissions from the heating and cooling of buildings throughout the year.

14/02/2022 Reset.org

How Collaring Cheetahs Reduced Human-Wildlife Conflict in Namibia

Namibia is home to one of the world's last remaining cheetah populations. But for years, cheetahs have decimated livestock herds, leading to a bloody human-wildlife conflict that further threatened the already vulnerable species. New technology and…

02/02/2022 Reset.org

Sickle cell: ‘The revolutionary gene-editing treatment that gave me new life’

Jimi Olaghere thought he would have to wait decades to be freed from his sickle cell disease - but now scientists have engineered his blood to overcome the disease which left him in constant pain.

20/02/2022 BBC

March

‘Emotional moment’: locked-in’ patient communicates with family via implant

A completely locked-in patient is able to type out words and short sentences to his family, including what he would like to eat, after being implanted with a device that enables him to control a keyboard with his mind.

22/03/2022 The Guardian

Scientists sequence the complete human genome for the first time

In 2003, the Human Genome Project made history when it sequenced 92% of the human genome. But for nearly two decades since, scientists have struggled to decipher the remaining 8%. Now, a team of nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere…

31/03/2022 CNN

A Bold Idea to Stall the Climate Crisis—by Building Better Trees

Changing the genetic makeup of trees could supercharge their ability to suck up carbon dioxide. But are forests of frankentrees really a good idea?

28/03/2022 Wired

April

Scientists say this new satellite is a game changer for tracking how our environment is changing

Space technology has long been used to help forecast weather, spot wildfires and aide scientists' understanding of the climate crisis. But this next-generation German satellite is being called a game changer for its ability to use more than 250…

15/04/2022 CNN

Psilocybin for depression could help brain break out of a rut, scientists say

The psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms helps to open up depressed people’s brains and make them less fixed in negative thinking patterns, research suggests.

12/04/2022 The Guardian

Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fall to lowest on record

Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to a record low in the financial year that ended March 2021, government figures showed on Friday, a result of slower industry activities amid the pandemic and wider use of renewable energy. The 5.1 percent…

15/04/2022 Al Jazeera

May

Tidal Power: The New Wave of Hydroelectricity?

Hydropower is one of humanity's oldest forms of energy, but there are still vast areas of the sector left unexplored.

30/05/2022 Reset.org

California just ran on 100% renewable energy, but fossil fuels aren't fading away yet

California broke its record for renewable energy when solar and wind provided enough to meet all consumer demand. At the time, natural gas power plants were still on, a necessity for the grid.

13/05/2022 NPR

Scientists grow plants in soil from the moon for the first time

In the study researchers showed that the arabidopsis plant – thale cress – can successfully grow in soil collected during the Apollo missions.

12/05/2022 The Independent

June

‘A seismic shift could be underway’: the mission to make steel green

If steel were a country, it would be the planet’s third largest emitter. But the race to decarbonise the sector is gaining momentum

28/06/2022 Positive News

Woman receives 3D-printed ear implant grown from her own cells in major breakthrough

A surgery for reconstructing a patient’s ear with her own tissue using 3D printing technology was successfully completed by doctors in the US.

03/06/2022 The Independent

The Motion of the Ocean Could Be the Next Big Source of Green Energy

In 1851, Charles Babbage, the English mathematician and inventor, found himself preoccupied with what might happen should coal mines—then and now one of the primary sources of usable energy—become depleted. He concluded that “the sea itself offers a…

23/06/2022 Time Magazine

July

Doctors awed at ‘unique’ patient who has been living HIV-free for over 15 years without medication

A team of researchers from Barcelona has studied the cellular mechanism that allowed a woman to be ‘functionally’ cured despite not taking antiretrovirals

29/07/2022 El País

The man who lives on rubbish

Dumpster-diving with Patrick O’Hare, the anthropologist fighting for our right to what people throw away.

30/07/2022 New Statesman

When Does the Clean-Energy Infinity Loop Start?

Digging up minerals for rechargeable batteries has a high initial cost, but eventually those minerals can be recycled indefinitely.

13/07/2022 The Atlantic

August

Once the fish factories and ‘kidneys’ of colder seas, Australia’s decimated shellfish reefs are coming back

Only 200 years ago, Australian waters were full of oyster and shellfish reefs. Then they collapsed. Now large scale restoration efforts are underway.

09/08/2022 The Conversation

Car tires are disastrous for the environment. This startup wants to be a driving force in fixing the problem

Every time a driver brakes, accelerates, or turns a corner, their car tires wear down a little. Most car owners replace their tires every five or so years because of this normal wear and tear — but the environmental consequences are extreme.

17/08/2022 CNN

WHO recommends new Ebola treatments

The World Health Organization has recommended the use of two drugs against the Ebola virus, which it says have "revolutionized" the treatment of what had previously been thought of as a "near certain killer."

19/08/2022 Deutsche Welle

September

This Danish Musician Powered His Outdoor Concerts with Batteries and Wind

Instead of diesel generators, shipping containers filled with wind-powered batteries were used to cut emissions at Lukas Graham's concerts

08/09/2022 Time Magazine

Rurbanization: Why It’s Time to Make Cities More Rural

Enough with the urban vs. rural binary. Bringing agriculture into cities can have huge benefits beyond healthy food.

08/09/2022 Wired

In Chad, a mobile school offers nomad children hope

Chad's nomad population make up almost tenth of ithe country and many children in the community hardly get an education.

12/09/2022 Al Jazeera

October

After #FreeBritney, California courts to limit conservatorships

On Friday, September 30, California governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that will limit the use of conservatorships, following the debates sparked by the members of the #FreeBritney movement.

01/10/2022 Le Monde

Is Zinc the Future for Renewable Power Energy Storage?

A new zinc-based battery claims to do away with many of the disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries, and at a lower cost.

24/10/2022 Reset.org

World’s top myeloma researcher: ‘We’re talking about curing blood cancer, unthinkable 20 years ago’

María Victoria Mateos, a doctor from Salamanca in Spain, recently received an international award in Los Angeles for a career devoted to the study of this disease

07/10/2022 El País

November

Compostable, reusable, or none at all? The future of plastic packaging

Big oil regards plastic as a growth market. But these startups have other ideas that will help us use less of the stuff

14/11/2022 Positive News

Kids in Brazil’s favelas are eliminating dengue fever – by breeding mosquitos

It might sound counterintuitive, but children in Brazil are breeding mosquitoes at home as part of a life-saving health initiative

16/11/2022 Positive News

Lab-grown blood given to people in world-first clinical trial

Blood that has been grown in a laboratory has been put into people in a world-first clinical trial, UK researchers say. Tiny amounts - equivalent to a couple of spoonfuls - are being tested to see how it performs inside the body.

07/11/2022 BBC